NATO agrees steps to bolster security of eastern allies

Military alliance NATO said on Wednesday it had decided on a series of immediate steps to reinforce its forces in eastern Europe because of the Ukraine crisis, Reuters reported.

"You will see deployments at sea, in the air, on land to take place immediately, that means within days," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a news conference after the decisions were taken by NATO ambassadors.

NATO fighter aircraft will fly more sorties over the Baltic region, allied ships will deploy to the Baltic sea, the eastern Mediterranean and elsewhere, and allied military staff will be sent out to improve NATO's preparedness, training and exercises, Rasmussen said.